Flyover Fiction : Sacred White Turkey ISBN: 9780803232969 Platform/Publisher: PQ ebrary / University of Nebraska Digital rights:Users: Unlimited; Printing: Limited; Download: 7 Days at a time Subjects: Women : Fiction.;
A lively, heartfelt novel by Washburn, a professor of Indian studies at the University of Arizona, pursues a near-supernatural encounter between a rare white turkey and a Lakota medicine woman and her granddaughter. Hazel Latour and 12-year-old Stella live on a small farm, on a reservation run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Their daily lives are disrupted when, one Easter Sunday, a glorious white turkey makes her home in their chicken coop. Stella sees this as a good omen, believing the turkey to be holy, but Hazel insists it's just a dumb bird and is unafraid of arousing the ire of the head of the tribal leasing office, George Wanbli, a medicine man who she sees as a rival. Clients flock to Hazel, the bird bringing prosperity, but word gets out about the turkey, provoking Wanbli's jealousy. He attempts to crucify the bird and slaughter her chicks, but they miraculously return to life. Washburn doesn't belabor the Christian metaphor, instead alternating between the points of view of Stella and Hazel to weave a charming, plainspoken tale of two people who have only each other until a bird gives them the courage to battle the forces of corruption and evil. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Frances Washburn is an assistant professor of American Indian studies and English at the University of Arizona. She is the author of Elsie's Business , available in a Bison Books edition.
